Basketball Night
While a typically heavy and saturated late March snow fell last night, I stayed in to watch a full night of basketball.
I started with the Wolves and Magic. Although the Wolves ended up losing, it was a very good game. The Wolves are slowly coming together, and I am confident they will end up with the fourth seed and home-court advantage. What's more, I am confident they can beat the Blazers, though it won't be easy. But will they play the Blazers? Utah or (gulp) the Lakers could easily slip into that #5 spot.
Then I switched over to the NCAA action, starting with Kentucky/Wisconsin. Kentucky looks very beatable to me, and Wisconsin's just the type of pesky, deliberate team to do it. It's funny how some teams retain the same identity, even after a total change of coaches and players. Wisconsin is still a worrisome draw because of their style; Gonzaga's kind of that way, too. But this Wisonsin team is a bit different than past ones, in that they have a real go-to guy in Kirk Penney. Alas, Kentucky pulled away.
In the other game, which I was not allowed to see much of, Arizona broke out against Notre Dame. Expected.
The Marquette/Pittsburgh game was awesome. I knew Dwayne Wade was a Certified Badass, but when he faked a fadeaway and then did the little step-through move with 14:00 to go, I was sold. And he was just getting started. Wade is big-time player. Pitt didn't go quietly, though. Brandin Knight literally picked apart Marquette's interior defense late in the game. They came so close to winning.
Can Marquette beat Kentucky? Sure, especially if Keith Bogans is still out for the Wildcats. Somebody is going to have to handle Marquis Estill and Jules Camara inside, though, and you wonder how having those two interior big men will change Wade's game as he gets to the hoop. Should be a great game.
And, finally, Kansas beat Duke. This rivalry goes WAY back, to the 1986 pre-season NIT, then the '87 Final Four, the '91 Finals, and several other big games since then. I'm still not sold on Nick Collison being anything more than a glorified Michael Doleac once he gets to the pros, but against a team with little inside presence like Duke, he might as well be Shaq. Good coaching by Roy to keep pounding it inside to his big man.
That sets up Kansas/Arizona, another great game. I have no idea who wins that one, but I learned a long time ago to temper expectations for a Roy Williams team in the post-season. He'll have to prove me wrong before I change, by winning a game they aren't supposed to win. Saturday's game would be a start in that direction.
Ah, basketball in late March, when all the games start to mean something. You can't beat it.
10:00:36 AM 
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